Team Gervonta Davis Claims Shakur Stevenson Is Using a Classic Mayweather Tactic to Gain the Upper Hand in Potential Showdown
In 2023, when Shakur Stevenson moved up to the lightweight division, he had only one goal in mind: Gervonta Davis. Four fights, one title, and two years later, he is still chasing that dream, practically pleading for the fight. However, a week ago, the Matchroom head honcho gave a hopeful update to all Sugar fans, suggesting September could finally bring the long-awaited showdown.
Meanwhile, Davis, fresh off his controversial clash against Lamont Roach, is locked in for a June rematch. Should he conquer that lingering ghost, he’d have five months to map out his ambitious plan for 2025—a gamble that Shakur Stevenson and Matchroom were ready to bet on. However, it looks like another losing battle for Newark native, as Tank’s co-trainer Kenny Ellis flipped the script, slyly suggesting he’s borrowing a page from Floyd Mayweather’s playbook.
Shakur Stevenson missed the golden opportunity with Gervonta Davis
In a recent interview with MillCity Boxing, Ellis was asked about Hearn’s and Stevenson’s claims of waiting for Gervonta Davis till September. “I see that coming from Shakur, waiting as long as you can,” the coach remarked, hinting he wasn’t surprised by the tactic. He claimed, “Shakur is trying to age him out.” Ellis believes that defensive brilliance is not the only thing connecting Stevenson and Mayweather.
He’s convinced Stevenson’s mimicking The Pretty Boy’s tactic of picking fights with opponents who’ve just slipped past their prime strategy, a long debated in boxing circles, with matchups like Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley often cited as examples.
However, the real blow came when Ellis shut the door, declaring, “But he ain’t aging anytime soon. I don’t care for it because it could have been happen. I don’t really care for it,” practically putting an end to the prospect of this unification bout between them. When asked to elaborate, Kenny Ellis added, “Fighters, period, do that. They try to wait until they think a fighter is over. But Tank ain’t old. He ain’t nowhere near old.”
The declaration has left the WBC lightweight champion at a crossroads. His entire move to 135 was built around landing Davis, and now that dream is teetering on edge. And even though the division is filled with exciting talents, none of those names carry a payday as big as Tank. At this point, the best move for him seems like moving up to 140—a move far more sensible now that he has opted out of his clash against William Zepeda.
Shakur Stevenson unhappy with the terms
Stevenson-Zepeda is a prospect fight that almost every boxing fan wanted to see—a showdown between the WBC lightweight champion and the interim titleholder. This was a fight that even Shakur had been targeting for a long time. And for a while, it seemed like both camps were zeroing in on a June date. However, it looks like the move has fallen apart as on the weekend, Oscar De La Hoya took to his ‘X’ and wrote, “After all the s**t talking, @ShakurStevenson pulls out of Zepeda
Shakur Stevenson instantly fired back. He owned up to walking away but pinned the blame on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. “😂😂😂😂 is that what they told you?? Turki promised me a number and now he going way back on that number that he promised me and sending his Towel boys to run me the info instead telling me straight up what he tryna do.. Ion bow down to nobody Mr De la Hoya now let’s negotiate!” he stated.
Just a month ago, Stevenson made a splash in his Riyadh Season debut, positioning himself as a marquee name for Alalshikh’s operation. However, as the reports suggest that “@Turki_alalshikh was only willing to pay less than $500,000 (before taxes) for @ShakurStevenson to face his WBC mandatory William Zepeda,” the power dynamics have already shifted and not in favor of Stevenson.
With his both fights on the verge of collapse, the Newark native has a big decision to make—clinging to a fading chance of glory at 135 lbs might be tempting, but it’s starting to look like a shaky bet.
Do you think Shakur Stevenson is playing the waiting game? Let us know your thoughts down below.
